


Mother-Daughter Bonding: How To Navigate Depression and Anxiety and Still Live to Laugh About It

by elizabethvaughan



Series: Braindead Alternate Universe (From Season Two on) [3]
Category: BrainDead (TV)
Genre: Also please know this "series" we keep posting has no official order yet, Charlotte Healy-Ritter, Family Drama, Kidfic, Mother-Daughter Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-31 06:15:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8567095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabethvaughan/pseuds/elizabethvaughan
Summary: Laurel and her daughter bond in an unlikely circumstance.





	

Charlotte banged through the door of the room she shared with her 11 year-old sister and dropped her backpack to the floor. Rushing to find an open patch of floor, she dropped down under the window and covered her face with her arms, tucking in as tightly as possible. She knew what was happening. She knew what was going to happen but she couldn’t stop it and it felt like her head was on fire and her eyes were burning and there was nothing she could do about it. There was never anything she could do about it and it just kept getting worse and oh god the world was spinning and now she’s sobbing and gasping and everything’s black and wet and the world hurts-

“Charlotte?” Laurel’s voice vaguely registered in some back corner of her brain. She felt a sort of momentary panic at the thought of her mother finding her and asking her what was wrong but she was powerless at this point and there was no escaping. 

“Charlotte, are you okay? I heard a noise, I thought I might be Louise up to one of her- Charlotte?” At this, her mother seemed to realize what was going on. She froze for a second, sheer panic now bleeding through her veins as she waited to see what her mother’s course of action might be. Laurel Healy was not always known for being the most sentimental of individuals, and her children were no exception. Most of the caring and sympathy in the family came from her father, who’s softer, more nurturing ways reflected his less callous upbringing in the Indiana Bible Belt. Laurel tended to hang back a bit, leaving most of the direct parenting to Gareth and letting her children build their own skills and interests without her intervention. Never in her life had she ever appeared this vulnerable before her mother. For a long moment, even the gripping panic and grief seemed to dull as she awaited her mother’s response.

“Oh god Charlotte, are you hurt?” She was now kneeling next to her daughter, attempting to inspect her without interrupting whatever was going on.

Managing to shake her head the tiniest amount, she shook as another round of sobs wracked through her body, shaking her frame and compressing her down impossibly tighter.

“Hey, hey hey hey hey hey, sweetie, shhhhhhhhh. It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here. Shhhhhhhhhhh”

Even though she couldn’t see her, she could feel her mother’s arms wrapping around her shaking shoulders. As she rested her head on Charlotte’s shoulder and nestled into her hair, she could tell her mother was settling in. Still shaking, she couldn’t even respond to this unusual display of affection in any way other than to remain where she was. All the feelings she usually faced when upset now seemed to be mixed with sheer shock, which together acted like tar binding her to the floor. They sat like that together for what seemed like an eternity. As time steadily wore on, Charlotte’s anxiety began to slowly spiral down as the shaking lessened and morphed into sobs, finally slowing to a stop. Her mom didn’t say a word, even after she had been completely stiff and still for a long time. Finally, her words cut softly through the now complete darkness of the room.

“Can I get you a washcloth?”

“Sure” Charlotte managed to half-choke-half whisper into her still-folded arms. Before her mother could do anything, they heard footsteps outside the door and a light knock. After a moment with no response, her father’s voice carried through the door into the room.

“Laurel? Charlotte? Louise said I’d find you in here. Dinner’s ready”

Laurel lifted her head from Charlotte’s shoulder “I think we’ll be a while longer Gareth. Go ahead and eat without us” she responded calmly.

“Is everything okay?” The concern was evident in his voice now.

“We’re find, but we could use some space, okay? Don’t wait for us”

“Okay. Dinner’s on the stove when you’re ready”

“Thank you” They could hear him heading back down the hallway towards the kitchen, leaving them alone once again. She felt her mother slowly unwrap her arms from around her body and stand up. Silently, she made note of the sounds and sensations she began to become aware of as they occurred. Footsteps out of the room. Open door. Light pouring in from the hallway. Sounds from the bathroom. More footsteps. Her mother re-entering the room. A hand on her shoulder.

“Here” her mother offered, gently touching the warm cloth to her hand to show her what it was. Charlotte slowly and stiffly unwound from her tight position, breaking the seals the dried tears had made along her face and arms. Avoiding her mother’s gaze, she accepted the cloth and carefully wiped her eyes. Reveling in the comforting sensation, she continued across her face and down her neck while her mother simply sat alongside her. Once she was done, her mother took the used cloth from her and set it aside. She stayed still as Charlotte ran her fingers through her messy hair, and waited as she wiped at the slight dampness lingering on her shirtsleeves. Finally breaking the silence, her mother began questioning her. “Do you want some dinner?”

Charlotte nodded.

“Okay. Do you want it here or with everyone else?”

“Here”

“Okay. Can you give me a minute while I fix you a plate?” More nodding. She shakily stood up and turned to head towards the bathroom when her mother gently intercepted and wrapped her in her arms. After a moment’s hesitation, she snuggled into her mother’s shoulder and closed her eyes. The two stayed like this for a good minute before Charlotte slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she became aware of was hair. Her own mixed with her mother’s, obscuring her face. Almost identical shades of brown, blending together seamlessly. For some reason, it made her teary again. Sensing this, her mother pulled her away from her body and looked her in the eye. After a moment of hesitation, Charlotte met her gaze. 

“This used to happen to me too”

“Really?”

“Yep. Exact same thing. Almost every day”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing. Grandma and Grandpa didn’t know and I didn’t want to anger them, and I wasn’t about to tell our housekeeper what was happening”

“Why does this happen?”

“Because life is shitty and teenagers get the shittiest deal of it all”

“Did it get better for you?”

“Eventually. I got older and got better at dealing with my problems. Some of my problems went away with time like some problems do. Some I had to work through alone. Some still hang around today. But it will stop, I promise. You just have to keep going and keep trying to make each day a little better for yourself”

Her voice broke. “I feel like it’ll never stop”

“I know, I know. And that’s normal. And it will”

“But it still happens now. It hurts now”

“I know Charlotte. And I want to make it go away but I can’t. But you can always come find me when it happens again and I’ll be here”

“But what if it happens when you aren’t here?”

“Then call me. I can talk to you if you need me. Heck, if you try hard enough you could maybe interrupt one of those horrible marketing meetings Luke has been subjecting me to”

At this, Charlotte managed a laugh. She could just imagine her mother deliberately answering her phone in the middle of one of her uncle’s “inspirational” meetings and walking out with an overly dismissive hand motion.

Her mother was laughing now as well. “See? We can make this mutually beneficial. I’ll help you with your problems, and you help me with mine. Deal?”

“Deal”

**Author's Note:**

> Finally posted! This is my attempt to capture the relationship Laurel would have with her eldest child, our original character whom we have named Charlotte. Charlotte struggles with a lot of anxiety and probably has mild depression and obccessive-compulsive disorder. In this story, Charlotte is about 16.
> 
> ~Winona


End file.
